What time is it? it's time for another Tenuously Christmassy post, and it's all about reindeer! Were there reindeer on the Mary Rose? No, but it's Christmas, and we have to try and be a bit festive...

It may not be snowing but we're feeling very Christmassy when looking back at this 1987 campus photo ❄ So we'll take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas season! 🎅 Archives & Special Collections will be closed from today until 5 January -see you in 2026! ©University of Surrey

On the 5th day of Christmas my archive gave to me… A late 19th century recipe for mince pies. Love them or loathe them, they certainly signal Christmas is near. #Archive #Christmas #mincepies #food #festive #Arundel #Sussex #history #recipe #documents

Today is the 146th birthday of Rudolf Laban, born #OTD in 1879. 🎉 Laban was one of the most prominent movement theorists of the 20th Century, influencing dancers, actors and choreographers. This image shows him on his birthday in 1955 at the Art of Movement Studio, Addlestone. Ref. L/F/3/70

It's December, lets have a wintry post! ❄️☃️ Here is a James MacIntosh Lantern slide featuring a very snowy shot of the Dunkeld Cathedral grounds. These photographs are undated but are estimated to have been created in the early 20th century. James was an avid amateur photographer of the local area.

We hope you've enjoyed delving into our archives with us for Explore Your Archive week! 💫 As a final note, we just want to say: our archives are also your archives. We look after them for you, and everyone is welcome - for research, interest or enjoyment! #EYAYourArchives #ExploreYourArchive

Our archive may be small, but it’s mighty - housing over 6,000 items that trace the evolution of psychiatric care through Bethlem Royal Hospital, the Maudsley & Warlingham Park. Whether you're a researcher, student, or curious visitor, there's a story here waiting to be uncovered. #EYAYourArchives

We've been delighted to work with a group of post-graduate English students who have been conserving student registration cards from our predecessor institution Battersea Polytechnic. It's been fascinating to uncover some of the stories of these students from our history. 🙂 #EYAYourArchive

We hold over 100 dance collections, including the Betty Meredith-Jones archive. She was a dance and movement education practitioner who worked with many different groups, including children, people with Parkinsons and the elderly. #EYAInclusion

Our #ExploreYourArchive theme today is Digital! Here's our archivist Simon working on the digital records in the daCi Archive; just like paper archives, digital archives require careful management to preserve them. Read Simon's #WorldDigitalPreservationDay blog via our website. #EYADigital

Today's #ExploreYourArchive theme is Pets… so we've dug out this footage of movement theorist Rudolf Laban's pet cat, Ico! 🐈‍⬛ 📽️These clips are taken from amateur film recordings within the Rudolf Laban Archive [L/J uncat.]. 🔗 See our website for more details on our Laban collections. #EYAPets

Did you know the Syon Abbey Collection has the longest date range of any of our collections? Items date from the early 15th century to the 21st century! This book of hours dates to c 1430s and includes a prayer for Syon Abbey's founder, Henry V. 📷 EUL MS 262/2 #ExploreYourArchive #EYAMedieval

Shh… Shh… It’s oh so quiet… Or is it? From collaborative corners & gaps in collections. Find out what #EYASilence in the archives really means for #ExploreYourArchive Day 4. @arascot.bsky.social @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social #archives @dmu.ac.uk @librarydmu.bsky.social

Here’s a question for you: why would a medieval manuscript be reprinted almost 400 years after its conception? As part of #EYAMedieval, we have uncovered the oldest item in our collections, a present from a mysterious Mr. R. Hill. #Presents #ArchiveAdventCalendar #RareBooks #EarlyModern

Compared to the relaxed rules and 24/7 opening enjoyed here @surreylib.bsky.social, the library rules from our predecessor Battersea Polytechnic in 1916 included not taking the inkpots and silence in the Reading Room! 🤫 Ref. BA/L/2 © University of Surrey Archives & Special Collections #EYASilence

We're going (quasi) medieval today for #ExploreYourArchive. This vivid illustration from the early 1900s is for a production of 'Sleeping Beauty', by Madge Atkinson, creator of Natural Movement dance. Ref. NM/N/2 © University of Surrey Archives and Special Collections #EYAMedieval

Today's #ExploreYourArchive theme is Beauty, and we have historic hats and hair! These studies are by illustrator E. H. Shepard. From chic Roman ladies to a magnificent Regency hairdos, these are styles for all occasions! Ref. ST Box 2/1 © The Trustees of The Shepard Trust #EYABeauty

It's #ExploreYourArchive week and we're starting off with #EYAConservation, highlighting the essential work done to preserve our collections and make them accessible. This week, we've worked on items from our E. H. Shepard 'The Wind in the Willows' collection, ahead of digitisation for an event.

#HappyNationalIllustrationDay2025 To celebrate, we’re uncovering the creative process behind E.H. Shepard’s illustrations for Everybody’s Pepys (1926) and Everybody’s Boswell (1930). Read more on our blog: blogs.surrey.ac.uk/archives/202... 📷 ST Sketchbook 38, © The Trustees of The Shepard Trust

Happy #WorldKindnessDay! What can we learn about kindness from Winnie-the-Pooh and friends? Line illustrations copyright ©The Trustees of The Shepard Trust Colouring of the illustrations copyright ©1970 and 1973 The Trustees of The Shepard Trust and HarperCollinsPublishers Limited [Ref EGM/1/32/1]

Today is #WorldDigitalPreservationDay! This year, the theme is 'Why Preserve?' It's a tricky question, but our archivist Simon has had a go at providing an answer - read our latest blog post to find out more! blogs.surrey.ac.uk/archives/202... #digipres #wdpd2025 #digitalarchives

And now for our latest 'Unlikely Objects in the Archive' post, we have: molecular models! These were created by a Physics student in the 1960s, and then used as a teaching aid in schools for over 25 years before being donated to our collections. #scienceteaching #physics

Some of the fabulous mid-20th century electro-plated nickel silver-ware objects in the University's archive, used in Battersea Polytechnic's Domestic Science training restaurant to keep guests' food warm. You can see these on display outside our Research Room on campus. #universitycollections

We're showcasing some of the objects in our University Archives, dating back to 1891 when we started out as Battersea Polytechnic in south London. This pennant dates from the 1960s, when the Polytechnic became a University at Guildford. It may have been waved at sports events. #EYAEducation

This month we're very pleased to have the September feature over on the #ArchivesHub monthly blog. Our blog explores the background of Classical Greek Dance, a fascinating early 20th Century dance movement, using items from two of our dance collections. #dancearchives

Calling the hive mind of Bluesky, and in particular those with paleography skills or an interest in early 20th century cookery. We think the 'Occupation' listed here is 'Fancy Rose Maker' - opinions sought on whether this is correct and what this job entailed... #paleography #educationhistory

Wishing a Happy Birthday to Percy Bysshe Shelley, born #OTD in 1792! This little volume of his collected works is from our Thomas Farrer Collection of rare books and has some beautiful marbling on the inner covers.

1/2 We're delighted to be launching a staff project aimed at conserving our collections while providing a wellbeing and social activity. @surreylib.bsky.social colleagues joined us to clean and repackage early 20th century student registration cards, and discovered some hidden stories...

Lovely location at Watts Gallery near Guildford for joining a cross collaboration of researchers from @uniofsurrey.bsky.social School of Arts, Humanities and Creative Industries to talk about interdisciplinary research and seeing where our archive collections could connect.

Dancing in the research room! 💃 We welcomed a group from ‪‬Grinnell College, Iowa to our Research Room to investigate the links between dance, and language using our #rudolflaban archive, and in particular, the Czech dancer Milca Mayerova. @grinnellcollege.bsky.social #dancearchives #archives

In honour of #WorldBeeDay, here is a honeybee, drawn lifesize by E. H. Shepard for 'Winnie-the-Pooh'. Ref. EGM/1/10 (c) HarperCollins Publishers Limited

A lovely morning working with one of our volunteers on a project to clean and rehouse hundreds of early 20th century student registration cards. A chance to explore some forgotten stories and have a natter! #archivevolunteers #chat #wellbeing #studentlife #archiveconservation

🚨We're hiring! 🚨 Applications are open for a qualified archivist for the post of Project Archivist working on the E.H. Shepard Collections at the University of Surrey Archives. Details available here: jobs.surrey.ac.uk/022425 Deadline: Monday 19 May #archivejobs #jobs #hiring

If you spotted our post from a couple of weeks back, you may like to know that the sword and shield are part of our Classical Greek Dance display outside our Research Room on campus. If you're in the area, do visit us to find out more, and look out for our forthcoming blog post on CGD.

It's International Dance Day, and here is a fabulous image from our new display on Classical Greek Dance. The Classical, or Revived, Greek Dance movement was created in the early 1900s by Ruby Ginner using images from ancient Greek art to reconstruct dance movements.

Looking forward to getting our next display in at the Research Room! Any guesses as to what our theme might be? 🤔 Keep an eye out in May for further information 👀

The University of Surrey Archives and Special Collections will be closed for the Easter break from 17-23 April, reopening on Thursday 24 April for all your archive enquiries. We hope you enjoy the Easter Bank Holiday weekend!

We need your help! We're still quite new to Bluesky and would love a few more followers. Please like and share this post. In return, reply with a colour or emoji and we'll find something from our collections. Thank you in advance 🙂

Removing efflorescence from some of the rare books in our Thomas Farrer Collections - these are salts from the binding process that emerge over time due to changing atmospheric conditions.

It's St. Patrick's Day ☘️, in honour of which here are some battered but obviously much loved scores from the Bellairs School of Dancing. Bice Bellairs was one of the founders of the Guildford School of Acting, now part of the University of Surrey. [Ref. BB/T/2/2/1/7 & BB/T/2/2/1/11, c. 1940s]

It's #EYAJustice month! These papers from the University of Surrey Student Union archive show the activity of the student body, in this case the resolution to support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in October 1973. Ref. no. SU/1/7/3/2

Oooh, books! Must be World Book Day... 📚 Just a tiny number of the books we hold in our collections, from the Ernest Shepard Archive to the rare books from the Thomas Farrer Collection.

We had a great session introducing students from our Children's Literature module to the archives - investigating how to interrogate and interpret original sources using items from our E. H. Shepard Archives, some of his original sketches and illustrations for 'Winnie-the-Pooh'. 😍

Today we're pondering the likely causes of three chairs being smashed - found in a file of correspondence from the Battersea Polytechnic Day Students Representation Council in 1924. [Ref. No. BA/G/1/5/1]

Hello Bluesky! We're the University of Surrey's Archives and Special Collections. Follow us for stories from our varied collections, which include the Rudolf Laban and the E.H. Shepard archives as well as the University's own archive and special collections. We're looking forward to meeting you!